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Pope Francis warned against “myopic, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalism” in some countries and a “growing loss of sense of history” in a major document outlining his worldview.
Fratelli Tutti, the third encyclical, a pastoral letter addressed to the entire Catholic Church, from his papacy, was published on Sunday, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, amidst the uncertainty and global anxiety over the Covid-19 pandemic and growing populism.
In the 45,000-word document, the Pope urges nations to work for a just and fraternal world based on common belonging to the human family. It expands on familiar themes in its teachings, including opposition to war, the death penalty, slavery, trafficking, inequality, and poverty; concerns about alienation, isolation, and social media; and support for migrants fleeing violence and seeking a better life.
Pope Francis had started writing the encyclical when the pandemic “unexpectedly broke out.” But, he says, the crisis has reinforced his belief that political and economic institutions must be reformed to address the needs of those most affected by it. The global health emergency has shown that “no one can face life in isolation” and that the “magic theories” of market capitalism have failed.
“Aside from the different ways in which various countries responded to the crisis, their inability to work together became quite apparent,” Francis writes. “Anyone who thinks that the only lesson to be learned was the need to improve what we were already doing, or to refine existing systems and regulations, is denying reality.
“The fragility of world systems in the face of the pandemic has shown that not everything can be solved with free markets. It is imperative to have a proactive economic policy aimed at ‘promoting an economy that favors productive diversity and business creativity’ and enables the creation and not the elimination of jobs.
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